(24) The God Who Gives Life

Immanuel Fellowship Church

For many people who come to God, especially later in life, there is a time when they must first hit "rock bottom." Dr. Christopher Yuan has a chapter in his memoir called "Rock Bottom." His parents were Christians. They had been praying for his salvation for years. But he persisted in his sin. He was incarcerated for selling drugs and learned in prison that he was HIV+. This news came to him as a "death sentence."Isarel's exile into Babylon was a rock-bottom experience. The people summed up their situation like this: "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off" (Ezek. 37:11). Where do you go from there?The only hope for people who have squandered their lives is that God would make them new. That's just what God promises in Ezekiel 37. The chapter doesn't merely speak to the restoration of Israel to the promised land, or the reunification of the divided tribes. It envisions a time when God's sanctuary is in the midst of his people forevermore (37:28). It promises both personal salvation and rich communal fellowship for sinners who have hit rock bottom and need the Lord to give them life.